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Friday, March 3, 2017

The Growing Potential of American Offshore Wind

In the coming years, the U.S. is poised to have another renewable energy revolution: offshore wind power. In December, the United State’s first offshore wind farm went online in Rhode Island. Soon the Block Island Farm will not be the only American offshore farm: both New York and New Jersey are on track to install turbines off their coasts. These developments could revolutionize the energy sector and provide thousands of gigawatts of clean power to the U.S. grid.

Onshore wind farms are a critical renewable energy source, but offshore farms benefit from stronger, more reliable wind and can be located near more highly populated coastal cities. Offshore wind power is decades old in many European countries. In 1991, Denmark installed its first offshore wind farm. The farm consisted of eleven 450 kW turbines. Since then, offshore wind turbine capacity has increased at an exponential scale. In 1991, the turbines were 52 meters high with a 0.45 MW capacity. Now, the turbines can be 220 meters high with an 8 MW capacity. These developments make offshore wind cheaper and more efficient.

These projects in Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey are only the start of the offshore wind industry in the U.S. The Department of Energy (DOE) has estimated that more than 2,000 GW of energy could be accessed in federal and state waters, while the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM) estimates the potential to be about 4,223 GW; or roughly four times the capacity of the current grid. With 53% of Americans living near coastal cities, if even a fraction of the DOE or BOEM estimates is achieved, offshore wind in the U.S. has the potential to add clean, abundant energy to the grid, provide jobs, and help protect our planet from climate change. To learn more, visit https://www.boem.gov/Offshore-Wind-Energy/.